Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story released ten years ago for the Nintendo DS, it was the third installment in the Mario & Luigi RPG franchise. As it brought an original story and challenging gameplay, fans all over the world adored this entry and often considered it as one of the best in the franchise. To bring back the magic to those who missed out, Nintendo developed a remake for the Nintendo 3DS family, including an untold story. Is this a good reason to dust off your Nintendo 3DS console? Let’s find out!
Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story
When you get this remake for 3DS, you get two games for the price of one, both set in the same universe. The main portion of the game is, of course, Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story. The game is a complete remake, dropping the cute cartoony graphics of the original and replacing them with the colorful 3D environments similar to Mario & Luigi: Dream Team Bros. I had to replay the intro of the original game to really grasp how much this game got improved. This isn’t just an easy port, it’s a completely new version of the classic game, including some rather impressive graphics. In all honesty, it’s been a while since I played a Nintendo 3DS game as the Switch gets most of my attention nowadays. It’s good to see that Nintendo really went the extra mile to deliver a solid experience on their portable system, the game looks extremely good and this only elevates the general experience of it.
Aside from the new graphics, the original game didn’t change, it’s still the same crazy and humorous adventure than it was ten years ago. The game kicks off with Toads running around in a panic because of the blorbs. This mysterious illness transforms you into a giant version of yourself, similar to a balloon. Needless to say, Princess Peach called in all the important members of the kingdom to find a solution, but guess who wasn’t invited? We all know Bowser, he doesn’t take that lightly and invaded the meeting, only to immediately be kicked out again. Tricked by his anger, he accepts a ‘Lucky Mushroom’ from a character later revealed as Fawful to solve his problem. Instead, he started inhaling everything! Long story short, Mario & Luigi got inhaled by their nemesis and they’ll have to work together in order to save their precious kingdom. This isn’t your typical Super Mario game but the gameplay stayed true to the RPG franchise.
A different kind of Super Mario game
If you’re unfamiliar with the Mario & Luigi RPG games, it’s crucial to understand that this isn’t your typical Super Mario adventure. You don’t run around randomly jumping on enemies, these games have a deeper layer. Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story is an RPG pur sang, meaning you’ll attack and defend in turns. To make it a bit more interactive, you can activate certain attacks while in combat to deliver additional damage. If you time your button-pressing just right, you can inflict extra damage or defend against the heavier attacks. What’s most fun about this, is the fact that you control the brothers separately, each with a different button. This brings a certain rhythm to the combat that’s unparalleled compared to other RPG games.
If you want to advance in this game, you’ll need to understand the combat and the movements of the brothers. Outside of the combat, you’ll also need to work together to clear new paths or reach higher platforms. Working together as one is really what the Mario & Luigi franchise is all about and this entry might even be considered as the pinnacle of teamwork. Not only do you need to guide the iconic brothers, but you’ll also have to control Bowser, from the inside. Adding Bowser to the actual gameplay is genius since it results in some extremely funny and awkward moments. You’ll see the two brothers on the touchscreen while Bowser is still on the move on the top screen. It’s funny to see how the actions of Bowser affect the brothers on the inside. But, it’s not all fun and giggles, Bowser can also be used to take down some humongous enemies, fighting these with a giant Bowser on your screen is nothing more than pure epicness. The game offers great innovation and variation to keep you going, this one will easily occupy a lot of your time if you’re willing to invest in the mechanics.
Bowser Jr.’s Journey
As if a genuinely created remake isn’t reason enough to celebrate, this classic also comes with an entirely new game called Bowser Jr.’s Journey. It’s playable from the start and it offers yet another perspective. In this one, you’ll follow the adventures of Bowser Jr. who’s left in charge of Bowser’s castle. He gets tricked into collecting the ingredients needed to ‘cure’ the blorbs and sets off on his own adventure. He doesn’t do that on his own, he gets the help of the Koopalings. Before I delve deeper into the actual gameplay of this extra game, I would like to point out that the story is pure brilliance. The way the Koopalings interact with each other and all got their own set of characteristics is simply amazing. Combine this with the fact that the story is as crazy as it can possibly get, topped off with a sauce of incredibly funny jokes. The game doesn’t take itself too seriously and often goes meta by, for example, complaining about long tutorials. It’s a blast to play and I was happy to discover that it’s actually a rather lengthy addition to the game too.
The gameplay itself is a lot different than the main game and is similar to the gameplay found in Bowser’s Minions. The combat ties the story together and is based on the same squadron type mechanic of Bowser’s Minions. You select the minions you would like to use, choosing from melee, ranged, and flying characters, to eventually set up your small ‘army’. The selected characters will attack automatically but it’s your job to pick the best placement for your troops, taking the class triangle into consideration. To make it a bit more interactive, you can time your special attacks for extra damage and the commander of the squadron can call in certain special commands from time to time. It’s not the best or most fun combat mechanic out there but the more you play it, the more you’ll appreciate it. It’s certainly a welcomed change compared to the traditional RPG gameplay. I don’t really consider this mode as a reason to get the remake but I do consider it a nice and addictive bonus.
Conclusion:
Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story + Bowser Jr.’s Journey is the perfect example of a remake done right. Thanks to the new and improved graphics, the original game offers an even better experience than it did before. It’s by far the most unique Mario & Luigi game in the franchise and controlling Bowser never gets old. Combine this with the fact that Bowser Jr.’s Journey adds yet another layer to the story and you know you’re in for hours of fun. If you own a Nintendo 3DS system, this is a game that simply can’t be skipped.
